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Apollo Hess has won the 2025 Team Canada Indigenous Athlete Award. (Photo: Canadian Olympic Committee)

Lethbridge man wins Team Canada Indigenous Athlete Award

Jun 27, 2025 | 11:00 AM

The Canadian Olympic Foundation is honouring a local swimmer for his accomplishments.

Apollo Hess has been given the 2025 Team Canada Indigenous Athlete Award.

The 22-year-old from Lethbridge is a member of the Blood Tribe. He says he models himself after the buffalo, which he explains is the only known animal to turn and face a storm head-first instead of running away from it.

“What I find most unique and empowering about my culture is knowing the hardships and traumas my ancestors experienced and survived for me to be here,” Hess says. “It gives me strength, pride, and courage. No matter the storm you might face, the best way around it is through.”

Hess competed at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, finishing fifth with the Canadian 4×100 mixed medley relay team.

He was previously part of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns swimming team, taking home five medals at the 2022 U SPORTS Championships, including two gold, and was named the U SPORTS Rookie of the Year.

He described his struggles to support himself financially as a high-performance athlete, saying that the costs of quality training, coaching, nutrition, travel and more were adding up.

As one of five recipients of this award, Hess will receive $20,000 over two years to help with the costs of training and performing.

He also qualifies for the federal government’s athlete assistance program.

Hess says, despite now being fully self-sufficient, he maintains a strict budget.

“I book the cheapest flights I can find, pack what should fit into a regular suitcase into a carry-on, and look for as many deals as I can find on groceries, which I find affects my day-to-day training,” he says.

The other recipients of the 2025 Team Canada Indigenous Athlete Award are:

  • Kaura Coles, wrestling
  • Shalaya Valenzuela, rugby sevens
  • Trinity Ellis, luge
  • Tuja Dreyer, summing

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